A/N: Birthday tribute to Shikamaru and Ino, and a belated one for Chōji.
Ino-Shika-Chō
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
It was one of those days where the matriarchs of the Akimichi, Nara and Yamanaka households were heavily involved in preparations for the annual Ino-Shika-Chō clan gathering. Although customary for members of the respective clans to have their own Ino-Shika-Chō circles, the annual gatherings were platforms for interaction, opening up opportunities for members to collaborate and more importantly, to foster and strengthen clan bonds across generations. Despite being an 'Ino-Shika-Chō' gathering, the three clans were hardly an inclusive bunch, and friends and comrades from clans across Konoha (most notably, the Sarutobi clan which has always traditionally had a hand in affirming the Ino-Shika-Chō bonds and refining their finesse in formations) were frequently invited. As a result, the gathering was usually a medium-scale Konohan event.
As Academy-going students, young heirs Chōji, Shikamaru and Ino were largely left to their own devices, on the outskirts of the Nara forest which skirted the Head of Clan's residence. Between the forest boundaries watched over dutifully by the deer, and the sharp eye of clansmen roaming the Nara compound, the matriarchs knew their young ones would be kept safe.
Instead of taking the rare chance to venture around the Nara forest (permitted visitors had to be escorted by a Nara for security purposes and their safety), Ino was, for once, blankly staring into the distance at a tree. Neither Shikamaru, comfortably sprawled on a grassy mound (alternating between attempting to doze and cloud-watching), nor Chōji, chomping contentedly on a packet of biscuits, felt a need to question Ino's newfound languor. Given her personality, Shikamaru was reasonably certain that the peace was likely to be short-lived; Chōji simply followed Shikamaru's lead.
True to predictions, Ino soon snapped out of her musings and rounded on her companions with a disgruntled, "Ino, Shika, Chō… Why'd our parents have to name us after animals?"
Chōji stopped munching and lowered his gaze to the grass, and Shikamaru re-angled his posture by propping himself up with his elbow to pay closer attention to his guests.
"Clan tradition" was the blatant answer, well-known to Ino and Chōji too, thus Shikamaru saw no point in stating the obvious. Watching Ino's furrowed brows made it easy to infer that she was replaying the non-malignant "Ino-buta" teasing from Sakura from earlier – she could be entertaining thoughts along the lines of, 'Am I boorish?' and 'She's calling me a pig and I can't even deny it!'. Chōji's drooping shoulders made him even simpler to read, for Chōji was often ostracized and ridiculed for his chubbiness ("Hey, Chō, your parents must have given up on you since birth, to name you after such a fragile creature, but it suits you!"; "Go mix with the girlies, Chō; you fit right in with them… Oh wait, I don't even think they'd wanna play with you, weakling.").
Shikamaru reluctantly pushed himself off the ground, and gazed at the sky with a suppressed sigh; it wouldn't do to add to the already depressing atmosphere. With a final lingering look at the carefree clouds, Shikamaru quickly glanced around before turning his gaze upon the others, "Ever heard of Hanafuda (花札 [literally 'flower cards'])? How about Koi-Koi (こいこい [literally 'come on'])?"
Two pairs of eyes studied Shikamaru quizzically. Resisting the urge to audibly sigh again, Shikamaru muttered, "Follow me."
Ino stood up and curiously did as asked, while Chōji plodded behind. Shikamaru led them to an annexed house deeper in the compound, and called out, "Chieko-obaachan, are you in?"
"My, my, isn't that Shikamaru-chan? Come on in, dear." drifted a wizened yet resonant voice, followed swiftly by the shoji doors sliding open.
Shikamaru introduced his friends to his clan elder, and they greeted her respectfully with deep bows. She nodded in acknowledgement and smiled fondly at them.
"Obaachan, can we please have a look at your Hanafuda cards?"
Chieko-obaachan raised an eyebrow in response to Shikamaru's request, displeased that he should bring friends to learn about gambling (the most common form of indulgence in the game) at such a young age. She had first showed him the cards and gave him an overview of the game on a whim, after having been impressed by his intelligence, and what she deemed as maturity, but she had apparently misjudged his character; he had brought along two others to make up the numbers for a round of Koi-Koi.
"I want to show them the yaku (card combinations) you showed me the other day," specified Shikamaru.
"Alright then," relented Chieko-obaachan, who instructed Shikamaru to serve his guests tea, before leaving the living room to fetch the deck of cards. Having witnessed this exchange, Ino was becoming increasingly puzzled, while Chōji sought assurance from Shikamaru.
"Are you both by any chance, the children of Chōza and Inoichi?" enquired Chieko-obaachan, upon her return.
With widened eyes, both addressed parties nodded in affirmation and some amount of apprehension. Shikamaru merely shrugged in response, in a 'she knows everything; she's Chieko-obaachan' manner.
"That explains a lot," chucked Chieko-obaachan, "Those two lads are too clueless about putting things into perspective!"
"I'll keep this brief, because I've to head to the meeting for this year's gathering. I trust that you are aware that gambling is illegal for minors?"
Three heads nodded.
"Basically, this set of cards, Hanafuda, is used for a number of card games, and may also be generically addressed as such for these card games. Koi-Koi is one such game. The aim of Koi-Koi is to earn the highest amount of points; points are earned by forming yaku. For example…" paused Chieko-obaachan, drawing some cards from the deck.
"Let me show you why yaku are so crucial to the game. These cards are 1-pointers," said Chieko-obaachan, pulling random cards from the stack and laying them out before the children.
"In order to get 1 point, you'd need to have ten of these cards, and every additional card on top of this Kasu (カス[literally, 'junk']) yaku would give you 1 extra point."
"Similarly, any five of these 10-point cards would get you 1-point for the Tane (タネ) yaku, with 1 point earned for each additional 10-point card added."
"These are the five 20-point kō (literally means 'light') cards; getting all five would earn you a higher score," explained Chieko-obaachan.
"These are the ribboned cards," sorted Chieko-obaachan expertly.
"There is also," continued Chieko-obaachan, "a special yaku which would earn one five points, comprising three 10-point cards…"
Trailing off, Chieko-obaachan nodded to Shikamaru, who stepped forward and picked out the three cards and laid them before Ino, himself and then Chōji.
There was a moment of confusion, wherein Ino scratched her head and Chōji's bewildered expression spread across his face, as they wondered what Shikamaru was up to. More seconds ticked by, and Ino eventually leaned forward to take a closer look at the cards Shikamaru had singled out. Shortly after she gasped in anticipation, Chōji's brows raised in astonishment, and he stuttered a stunned, "E… Ino?" to have her take on the matter.
"Shika?" wondered Ino.
"Chō," finished Shikamaru, with a proud smile that his friends were beginning to understand the deeper rationale behind their names.
"That's right; the Ino-Shika-Chō (猪鹿蝶) yaku would earn a player five points despite being only three-strong. Together, they are a special yaku that can make a crucial difference in a game." Chieko-obaachan elaborated.
"The Akimichi, Yamanaka and Nara clans have been working closely together since the founding of our respective clans, because our ninjutsu complement each other well. More importantly, strong allegiances and bonds have been forged among the three clans, and the trust and respect we share has given us deeper insights into each others' strengths and limitations, so that we can look out for our respective blind spots and function extremely effectively. As clan heirs, you have been named per tradition as reminders of what you represent – three parts of a whole. The boar presses on diligently; the deer excel at thriving; the butterfly overcomes adversity and emerges in its full splendour when it is ready."
"Ino-chan, the boar is a resilient warrior, and sows would bravely go all out to protect their own – you will love and fiercely defend your herd; Chōji-chan, you have great strength (on the inside and out), and I have no doubt that one day, you will selflessly spread your wings and soar to great heights; and Shikamaru-chan, you've already been demonstrating the instincts and intelligence the deer exemplify – fulfill your full potential, and keep your entity safe. The Ino-Shika-Chō yaku's legendary teamwork can function only because of teammates' unwavering trust in each other, ability to read each other almost by instinct arising from familiarity, and combination and mastery of the complementary clan techniques," intoned Chieko-obaachan.
As each child was addressed, they sat a little straighter, with determination and hope shining in their eyes. In Chōji's case, his eyes were also glistening with grateful tears for Chieko-obaachan's kind words and belief in him, despite having met him for barely half an hour.
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. When the going gets tough, remember you have each other and your clans and comrades, and remind each other of what you represent and whom you're fighting for. Only together, can yaku be made…"
A/N: I'd started this piece on 22nd September with a few hours to spare, and knew I wasn't going to get it anywhere near completion in time, and decided that Ino's birthday was as good a motivator to finish this. While I adore Chōji, 1st May was not the best period for me to churn something out. This idea has been idling in the recesses of my mind since the time I'd first learnt of its origins, but it never quite materialised because I suppose to some extent, I expected similar fanfictions to be written. This was a spontaneous decision, arising from the determination that I hoped to post a birthday tribute for Shikamaru (it's been a long while!), and the rest of the story just fell into place.
While it's possible that in the Naruto-verse, Hanafuda does not exist and that Ino-Shika-Chō was intended for modern readers to draw the associations themselves, my rationale is that having significance behind the tradition would give make their story so much more meaningful. As to Chieko (恵子), her name was chosen because it means 'wise child'. She'd be a grandaunt-of-sorts to Shikamaru. Since Shikamaru knows her, it's reasonable to assume that she would be relatively familiar with Shikaku and by association, his team (hence her comments about their not putting matters into context).
I am by no means a Hanafuda expert, and do not condone gambling (most commonly played with bets, I believe). I do, however, own several sets of Hanafuda and Hwatu (Korean 'Go-Stop' variant of Hanafuda) cards. While arguably a game of chance, there is some room for strategy. The rules and combos vary depending on the version and agreement between players, and take time and familiarity to digest. I have yet to employ the cards in practice (and of course lack understanding and opponents for the game to function).
As shinobi parents grooming young shinobi, the dads would not be able to resist extoling stories of the glorious days of InoShikaChō; Team Ten (not yet formed in this story) would no doubt have heard this multiple times, but without much knowledge beyond the fact that their dads were on the same team and the term was coined by joining the front portions of their names together. In Inoichi's case, being a protective dad who would hardly wish to lead Ino astray, I find it hard to imagine he'd mention Hanafuda to Ino (who would no doubt insist on finding out more); as for Chōza, he'd probably take the effort to encourage Chōji independently, to build up his self-confidence as he'd have been subjected to the same thing himself in childhood, and how would Chōji dare to believe he can contribute in any way (as opposed to dragging his team down) without this support? Shikaku, on the other hand, would probably be more nonchalant about potentially introducing Shikamaru to vices – Shikamaru has to be sent after him to extricate him from his drinking sessions. It's also possible that Shikaku had sent Shikamaru to Chieko to save himself the trouble of having to explain, himself…
Well, what do you think of this? Feedback would be much appreciated.
Update (24 Sep 2015): Special thanks to fanofthisfiction for her extremely prompt and timely review, which brought unintended inconsistencies in Chōji's name to my attention; I have since revised this to minimize confusion, along with further refinements to this piece.